Shades of Grey
by KiruxStratus
Summary: Roxas' family moves to Hollow Bastion after his father gets a promotion. Roxas now has to go to Hollow Bastion High knowing nobody but his cousin Sora, but what things about Sora will he learn as the year goes on, and will he fit into the new school?
1. First Day

Roxas' family moves to Hollow Bastion after his father gets a promotion

_**Roxas' family moves to Hollow Bastion after his father gets a promotion. Roxas now has to go to Hollow Bastion High knowing nobody but his cousin Sora, but what things about Sora will he learn as the year goes on, and just how well will he fit into the school?**_

Roxas was unpacking his stuff into his room in his family's new house. His father had recently gotten promoted to become the manager of the new Shinra Hollow Bastion Division, unfortunately that meant Roxas had to move away from all of his friends in Twilight Town and start life again with only one year left of high school.

Roxas had a fairly large room with a big window facing out towards the street. His bed was in the corner by the window moved over to the side just enough so the sun wouldn't blast him in the face as in came into the room. He had a decent sized TV in the corner of his room and a small desk to do his school work. All around the room were posters of his favorite bands and on his desk were two pictures, one of him and his friends from Twilight Town, and one of him and his cousin Sora.

He and Sora had known each other all their lives; they had only been born a couple months apart, and would always look forward to seeing each other when their family got together. Roxas' biggest hope was that he would get to hang out with Sora and his friends when he went to school.

xxxxxxx

Roxas woke up, went through his morning routine to get ready for school, got dressed and headed downstairs for breakfast. When he got down there was a plate of pancakes waiting for him on the table.

"Looking forward to school honey?" asked Roxas' mom.

"Ya, I'm going early so that I have more time to look for Sora." Roxas mumbled in between bites of pancake. Roxas' mom just sighed to herself, hoping that Roxas' wish wouldn't come true all year. She couldn't bear to see Roxas' expression when he found out who his cousin actually was.

xxxxxxx

Roxas walked down the street towards his school when suddenly a blonde haired girl popped out from the house he was walking by.

"Hi there, I haven't seen you around here before." Said the girl politely. Roxas laughed.

"I'm Roxas, I just moved here a couple days ago." Roxas couldn't help but notice how pretty the girl was in her simple white tank top and shorts.

"My names Namine, want to walk to school with me?"

"Sure!"

Roxas and Namine walked along the sidewalk, Namine firing off an endless barrage of questions about Roxas' old town, school and friends until fifteen minutes later they crossed the street and walked towards the front doors of the school.

"Well I have to go to the office to get my timetable and locker number, I hope I see you in class." Roxas said as he walked towards the front office. Namine just giggled.

"We have twenty minutes until class starts; I might as well stay with you and show you around."

Roxas entered the office with Namine close behind and got his timetable and locker number with ten minutes to spare. Roxas showed Namine his timetable which caused Namine to cheer seeing that they had the same Art and History class together.

"Art is my favorite subject," explained Namine, "we should have lots of fun."

Roxas looked at the paper in Namine's hand and stared at the square that showed his Art class right after lunch.

"Is Mr. Tucker nice?"

"Ya, but don't call him that, everybody just calls him Marluxia, and NEVER draw flowers, just take my word for it."

Roxas just nodded when he felt a person brush by him, blocking his view of Namine. The boy, who was dressed in tight black clothing and had his wood completely shadowing his face just walked by towards one of the hallways dropping something on the floor by Roxas. Namine just growled.

"Don't worry about him; he never talks to anybody except for a couple of the teachers and one other kid. People say he steals things and my friend Olette said she thought she saw him injecting something into his arm last week."

Roxas bent over and picked up the item near his feet as Namine turned to show him to his locker and felt his jaw drop when he picked it up. It was a keychain he had gave Sora last time he saw him.

xxxxxxx

Namine showed Roxas to his locker, which was conveniently located across the hall from his first period English class. When he walked in he found all but two seats filled, one by a tall lanky guy with extreme red hair and one by the guy who had brushed by him just five minutes ago. He opted to sit by the red head near the window. The teacher came in as the bell rang and placed his stuff on the desk.

"As most of you know I'm Mr. Wolf and I'm your English teacher but you may call me Saix if you wish." Roxas looked at the man who seemed to have scars across his eyes and had incredibly long hair.

Saix began a lecture on what they would be doing throughout the year and then assigned a one page essay on the person that everybody sat beside due at the end of the week. Roxas looked over at his partner and realized that he had been asleep for what he assumed was the whole time.

"…Roxas Balfour?" spoke the teacher, causing everybody to turn their heads as Roxas put his hand up. And that's when the mumbling started, at least until the teacher yelled across the room deafening everybody.

"AXEL WAKE UP!"

The red head beside Roxas promptly sat bolt upright and began scribbling down the assignment on the bored. Roxas was more interested in the person in the corner, wondering who it could possibly be as he waited for his name to be called.

"…Riku Vale?" Roxas saw the hooded boy raise his hand slightly before he packed his stuff away.

"Yo, Roxas!" Roxas quickly turned his head to see the red head smiling at him.

"Names Axel, got it memorized?"

"Uhh, yeah sorry about that."

"Ah, don't worry about it, Riku is a pretty weird guy, almost as bad as his buddy, BUT enough about that when do you wanna get together for this stupid essay?"

"Oh, well I don't know want to just do it at lunch?" Roxas was still a little thrown off by Riku and how he always seemed to be cloaked in shadows. That and he wouldn't see Namine until after lunch and was looking to make as many friends as possible.

"Sure find me in the caf, just look for the hair." Axel got up and walked out of the room leaving Roxas to find his way to his second period science class.

xxxxxxx

Roxas managed to get to class early and sat behind a lab bench at the back of the room, again by the window. Slowly other students filled into the room, sitting by their friends from previous years until Roxas found Axel sitting beside him moments later.

"Go figure we have class together again!" Beamed the red head.

"Ya it looks like it." Smiled Roxas. He then found two people sitting in front of them turning their chairs back towards Axel and himself.

"These are Demyx and Zexion." Axel pointed to a blonde haired guy with what seemed to be a cross between a mullet and a faux-hawk, and a guy with slate colored hair covering his one eye. The slate haired guy nodded while the blonde, Demyx, began an endless stream of questions until the teacher walked in. Everybody was dead silent as soon as he entered.

"Good you all know who I am and I have a list of who you are so lets do attendance and get down to business."

The teacher called out the names, Roxas' again causing a slight murmuring, and then again explained what they would do in class throughout the year. At the end of class he assigned ten pages of homework, causing the class to complain until he turned around and glared at them all. Roxas could have sworn he felt the temperature in the room drop a couple of degrees. The bell rang and everybody began to leave the room to head for to their next class.

"Don't forget to wear fire retardant stuff; we do have Axel in this class." The remaining students laughed, except for Axel who was complaining about the abuse and Roxas who was asking Demyx what the teacher was talking about.

"Oh Axel has caused a few 'accidents' during labs before usually involving something exploding. Don't worry about it though Vexen is used to it by now and has fire safety equipment EVERYWHERE." Roxas then saw the humor in it and started to laugh.

Demyx stole Roxas' timetable and dragged him by the arm down another hall while Axel and Zexion went upstairs.

"Where are you taking me!!"

"We have music together and it's on the other side of thee school, if we don't hurry we will be late!"

Roxas and Demyx bolted through the halls until they came to the door of the music room and walked in. Most of the students had already sat down along the risers waiting for their teacher to come into the room and assign instruments. Roxas and Demyx took the only seats here they could sit together, right at the front in the middle. A tall blonde haired woman walked into the room with a large pile of paper and what appeared to be a thick steel baton.

"Alright, let's skip the stupid introductions you all know you can call me Larxene, when I call your name come up and get a sheet and fill it out, you will get your instruments tomorrow assuming nobody screws this up." Roxas could already tell this teacher was a ticking time bomb and that he had better do well.

"Demyx your sitar arrived yesterday come to my office after class and get it, it's taking up more space than I care for." Roxas looked over at his new friend with a somewhat quizzical look causing Demyx to tilt his head and whisper to Roxas.

"I'm the best musician in the school so I can use my own instruments. I just happened to get a new sitar for this year." Roxas just nodded his understanding and got up to grab a sheet as his name was called. The rest of the class followed suit, each person filling in their personal information and which instruments they wanted to play. The bell rang as the last student handed in his sheet and everybody headed to the cafeteria for lunch.

Demyx walked into the caf with Roxas and led him to the table where Axel and Zexion were sitting. Roxas got in line for food and quickly returned to his seat to find his three new friends eating homemade lunches.

"I heard some really rich people moved in just this weekend, some guy who works for Shinra." Roxas heard from a small group of people walking nearby. He had sworn to himself to not let people know that was his family.

"So Roxas, you aren't related to Sora Balfour at all are you?" asked Axel, pulling Roxas away from listening to other peoples conversations.

"Ya he's my cousin, I've been looking for him all morning you aren't friends of his are you?" Demyx and Axel burst out into laughter; Zexion just chuckled lightly to himself.

"Bit of advice Rox, Sora has one friend here, you might want to hide the fact your related to him or people will get a bad impression of you." Said Axel as he gasped for air laughing. Roxas was stunned.

"What's so wrong with my cousin?" Axel just pointed to the corner of the gym by the stage where two guys were slouched in the corners wearing all black with their faces hidden.

"There's your cousin and his friend Riku, let's just say they have pissed a few people off and have done a few strange things."

Roxas stared at the two guys in the corner in shock; he had never seen Sora wearing black at all. The most shocking fact of the whole thing was that Sora only had this Riku kid as a friend, something Sora had lied to him about every time he saw him.


	2. The Truth Comes Out

_**So somehow I've found time to write up this short chapter. I deeply regret that I haven't done more with this story and plan on being more active in writing it from now on. I know it's short but please, enjoy.**_

Roxas looked across the cafeteria in agony. He couldn't believe it, his cousin who always seemed so carefree and happy was shrouded by a black leather coat that kept his face in total darkness. It just couldn't be true, the boy Roxas had known all his life, that he even shared the same birthday with, was somebody totally different than what he expected. He rose from his seat and began to slowly walk over to the corner where his cousin sat.

"Roxas get back here who knows what that psycho Riku will do to you let alone Sora!?" screamed Axel as eh grabbed onto the hem of Roxas' shirt.

"I'm talking to my cousin!" Roxas said harshly as he tugged his shirt out of Axel's grasp.

X0x0x0x

Sora wasn't any ordinary kid. From the day he started grade 5 his life was consisted of nothing but misery, pain and deceit; filled with nothing but darkness. So that is where he decided he would stay, in the dark.

"Your cousin is heading this way." Riku spoke quietly beside him. "Do you want me to scare him off?"

Sora looked up slightly to see a very pissed off Roxas heading in his direction.

"From the looks of it he already knows it's me don't bother. Who knows it could even be fun!" Sora chuckled to himself as he said this. Roxas eventually reached the corner where Sora was seated and glared down at the cloaked boy.

"Sora is that really you?"

"Go away Roxas."

Roxas felt the colour drain out of his face, he knew that voice all too well. There was no doubt in his mind that this was his cousin.

"What the hell happened to you!? How can you have changed so much in six months!?" Roxas asked stunned.

"Six months?" Riku scoffed as he lowered his hood revealing long lilac hair and what looked like a blindfold across his eyes. "Sora has been like this for over three years now if not longer." Sora laughed at the expression on Roxas' face.

"Why don't you run along and be a good little boy, eh cousin?"

"Who the hell are you!? This is not the Sora I know!"

"The Sora you know died years ago," Sora removed his hood, the spiky brown hair Roxas remembered now straight and black with red tips. Sora's hair was jagged and covered his left eye, leaving his red right eye the dominant feature on his face. His skin was white as chalk, and a lip ring glinted in the corner of his mouth. "This is who I really am, I only ever acted that way around you because my mom thought I would scare you, looks like she was right huh Riku?"

Riku laughed a deep menacing laugh. "Piss off you piece of shit, what kind of a cousin are you that you don't even know what your relatives are really like!?" Riku stood up and flashed a glint of silver at Roxas causing him to panic.

"Riku no need to stab him he's no threat." Sora laughed. He stopped laughing when a cupcake nearly hit him in the face.

The three boys in the corner looked at the perpetrator, who was licking the icing off his fingers.

"Even if he is your family, you leave our friend alone, got it memorized?" Riku glared at the red head and hid his knife, pulling his hood back up and sitting back down.

"Go away Roxas, I have nothing else to say to you." Sora pulled his hood back on and resumed to sitting in silence.

Roxas stepped backwards slowly until he felt himself collide with somebody who grabbed his arm and started to drag him away.

"I told you not to go over there." whispered the red head.

"I had to find out for myself."

"How about you just trust me from now on, that's what friends are for."

"F-friends?"

"Yes, friends, f-r-i-e-n-d-s, got it memorized?"

"Well if you guys are my friends now how about we swing by my place tomorrow after school?"

Roxas and Axel sat down at the table with Demyx and Zexion and hoped the guys would agree.

"Sounds awesome, how bout you Dem, Zex?"

"Well I don't have band tomorrow so sure, and Zexy is coming too he doesn't have a choice." Zexion just sighed and shook his head.

"Alright my place after school tomorrow then!" Roxas cheered. The bell ending lunch interrupted his jubilation and the cafeteria began to empty.

"What do you have next Roxas?" asked Axel.

"Math, this is going to suck."

"Ya the three of us have math too but looks like a different teacher. What room are you in?"

"108"

"Perfect we are in 107 lets book it."

It just hit Roxas as the four new friends rushed out of the cafeteria that he didn't even do what they had met at lunch to do in the first place, write his essay about Axel!

x0x0x0x

Sora stared at his cousin as he was pulled away, laughing to himself the entire time. He had been looking forward to that moment since he had been told Roxas would be going to school with him. Roxas had always pissed him off, his always cheery mood and optimism were like poison to Sora. Roxas seemed to just glow with happiness and to somebody who was used to total darkness like Sora it burned his eyes. Sora stood up to beat the rush of students to class and headed towards his next class, Math in room 108.

_**Well that's it for now, time to get back to school work. If you like the story though reviews tend to remind me that I need to update more often :P Hell if its constructive criticism send it my way. Anyways I hope to have another longer chapter up within the week.**_

_**xSiNx**_


	3. Shock and Awe

Roxas Axel Demyx ad Zexion walked through the halls towards their math class while Demyx assaulted Roxas with endless questions about where he had come from.

"Well Twilight Town is about a three day drive from here and looks like the sun is always setting. it's a bit less urban than here but not rural by any means."

"Sounds sick did you have a lot of friends there?"

"There were four of us, me Olette Pence and Hayner, then a bunch of obnoxious idiots that I generally avoided."

The four said their goodbyes and walked into the classes that were in front of them. Roxas was surprisingly the first one there and took a seat in the back corner. Soon after the rest of the class began filing in, most of them Roxas recognized from other classes. The bell rang and there were only two empty desks left, the teachers and the one beside him.

A tall man with blonde hair and strange eyes walked in and started writing some equations on the board while talking to the class.

"As most of you know I am Ansem the Wise, and I will be your Math teacher this year. The equations I am putting up should be simple enough for you to figure out, do them and them bring them up. Textbooks will be assigned next class so once you are done these you are finished for the day."

The door flew open as a dark cloaked figure walked in interrupting the teacher as he was onto the second chalkboard.

"Sora do that again and you'll spend an afternoon with me."

Sora bowed slightly pulled back his hood and smiled mockingly. "Of course sir, my apologies."

Roxas shuddered when he realized the only empty seat for Sora to take was beside him. Sora began walking towards Roxas, a smirk on his face making it seem like he was plotting something sinister. Sora took his seat and took out a pencil and paper to begin the equations on the board. Roxas just stared at the board trying to forget his cousin was beside him.

"As I was going to say before somebody interrupted me, whoever finishes these first will receive a prize."

"Done." Roxas looked at his cousin in utter disbelief. There were thirty equations on the board, all of them algebra, it was impossible for Sora to have them done in less than two minutes. Ansem the Wise walked over to Roxas and Sora and grabbed the paper on Sora's desk and sighed.

"Correct as usual, I'll speak with you after class."

"Can I leave, I don't feel like sitting here for another hour doing nothing.?"

"No, you can sit here and catch up with your cousin."

The class began to murmur once the teacher had said this. Roxas was Sora's cousin? How could they be so different. Sora just glared at the teacher as we walked back to his desk. Roxas began answering the questions on the board as the rest of the class gossiped about him and Sora. As he got onto the second half of the questions he noticed them getting more and more difficult.

"x=1 y = 5"

Roxas looked to his side to see his cousin with his head on his desk looking at him.

"It's simple how dumb are you. And to think that I'm related to you."

"Sora what the hell happened to you?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Sora chuckled to himself and watched as Roxas continued on with his work. Within twenty minutes he was done, the first one other than Sora, and he walked up and handed the sheet of paper into Ansem the Wise.

"Looks like it runs in the family all correct." The rest of the class glared at Roxas as he walked back to his seat.

"Get used to it, I don't know how Twilight Town was but you better be ready to go through hell. And if nobody else makes you, I will myself."

Roxas felt his jaw drop. Did Sora just threaten him? His own family member?

"What the hell is your problem?"

"I have to sit beside you." Sora was staring at the front of the class, playing with his lip ring.

"Why is that such a problem, we used to be best friends."

"I hate you Roxas."

Roxas felt like a knife had been plunged into his heart. This couldn't be happening. Roxas felt a hand on his shoulder and he turned around to see the teacher.

"Roxas come with me, Sora I'll talk to you after school I'm sure Riku won't mind."

Roxas stood up in a daze, not knowing exactly where he was or where he was going. Ansem guided Roxas out of the classroom and knocked on the door of the next room.

"Mr. Shaw could you come out here please we have a code 666." The teacher nodded grimly as he stood up. The three boys sitting in the back stood up and ran towards the teachers.

"Guys sit down, it's nothing to worry about." The short teacher ordered.

"We know what's going on and we can help." Zexion said calmly. The two teachers looked at each other and nodded as the boys followed them into the hall.

"Just watch my class while I talk to these four." Mr. Shaw nodded and walked into a murmuring room of almost thirty students, one which was laughing manically in the back corner.

"Roxas what's wrong?" asked Axel.

"Seems like his cousin is up to his usual mind games. By the way things look I'm assuming you didn't know Sora was like this. I'm going to see if somebody will switch seats with you but it's not likely." Roxas nodded blankly.

"You three said you could help?"

"Ya we figured it might be Roxas, he had an encounter with the psycho at lunch, we'll take care of him is it okay if we leave class we are done all our work?" Axel explained.

"Zexion come with me." The teacher walked into his room and spoke with Mr. Shaw quickly how seemed to nod his head. Ansem turned to Zexion and motioned back towards Sora. Zexion came out of the room shortly after with Roxas' belongings and asked Demyx to grab his. Axel and Demyx returned to their class, grabbed their bags and Zexion's and walked back out beside Roxas.

"Zexion today's password is cobalt." The slate haired boy nodded and ushered the other three towards the science classes.

"Password for what?" asked Demyx.

"The Alchemist's room."

"WHAT!? YOU'RE AN ALCHEMIST!?" Demyx screamed. Zexion just shook his head.

"Yes, now shut up and let's go."

The boys eventually arrived at a strange black door with a keypad for a lock. Zexion punched in cobalt and the door slid open revealing a lavishly decorated room with plenty of food and drinks.

"Holy shit!" Axel screamed as he ran towards a table with hot pizza on it.

Zexion guided Roxas over to an extremely comfortable leather couch. Roxas sat down as Demyx brought him a glass of water.

"You ever have somebody who was once your best friend say they hate you?" Roxas asked.

"He did not!"

"He did."

A couple seconds later Ansem the Wise walked in.

"Roxas, I'm sorry but nobody would switch. I had a word with your cousin though and he's going to try to not upset you in my class at least. Also since Sora is technically already a member even though he doesn't ever show up welcome to the Alchemists."

"What exactly is an Alchemist?"

"The best Math and Science students in the school, they get a few extra luxuries since the math department gets funding from Shinra. Speaking of which I called your father." Axel and Demyx jus looked at the now embarrassed Roxas.

"YOU are the new rich family that moved in?!"

"Surprise?" Roxas giggled nervously.

"Why didn't you just tell us?" asked Demyx, who was feigning hurt.

"I didn't want it to go around the school that I'm some rich kid."

Ansem frowned and sat down in an armchair. "Too late for that, Sora told the whole class it'll be around the school by next period." Roxas just groaned.

"Anyways you can come to either me or Vexen for the password to this room if you want access for the day. I have to get back to the classroom."

Ansem the Wise left the four boys to talk to each other.

"You know what this means now right Roxas?" asked Axel as Roxas held his head I his hands. Roxas lifted his head to find Demyx and Axel hovering menacingly over him. Suddenly the two boys tackled Roxas, flipping the couch over much to Zexion's dismay. The three boys started laughing.

"That's for hiding shit from your friends, got it memorized?"

"Well in that case anything you should be telling me?" Demyx and Axel looked at each other warily, wondering whether or not to tell Roxas.

"Do you have a problem with gay people Roxas?"

"No why?"

"All three of us are bi." Roxas suddenly felt his face get hot as he realized that Axel and Demyx were still on top of him.

"Uh no problem but could you get off me please?" The two other guys scrambled up and felt their faces go red.

"Uhhhh Ya sorry about that." giggled Demyx.

"Class starts in five." Zexion said as he walked by the three with a can of iced tea and a muffin. The four guys gathered their things and walked out of the room.

"What do you have now Rox?"

"Art, I'll talk to you guys later."

Roxas ran down the hallway towards the Art room, the idea of seeing Namine again making him think that he was rally going to enjoy this class. He walked into the room and sat at one of the empty large tables. Namine came in not too much later and sat beside him.

"So how's the rest of the morning been for you ?"

"Eh some good some bad."

"Well at least it wasn't all bad." The rest of the class walked in and stared at Roxas and Namine. A red haired girl sat beside Namine and a few of her other friends sat at the table.

"SO Nami, who is this?!" the auburn haired girl asked coyly.

"This is Roxas he just moved here." The other girls jaws dropped and they all looked at Roxas in shock.

"YOU are Sora's cousin? Oh my God we were afraid it was another freak." A hyper looking brunette said. Roxas just groaned.

"Please don't remind me about him."

Their conversation was interrupted when a pink haired man walked in the room.

"Hello everyone, I'm Marluxia and I'll be your art teacher. Today all I want you to do is draw something that you feel represents you and have it ready for next class. You may begin."

The group chatted amongst themselves as they decided what to draw, all of them asking about what Sora was like as a kid.

"Well he used to be a lot more like me I have no idea what made him so…so…"

"Dark?" the auburn haired girl said. She was interrupted when a black robed guy walked into the class with a green piece of paper in his hand.

"Your late Sora." the teacher said softly.

"Ya, and what's it to you at least I showed up."

"Just draw something that represents you."

Roxas turned white when he realized that the only empty seat was between the auburn haired girl and the brunette. Sora walked over, his hood still up and sat down.

"Well well well, looks like we get to spend some more time together cousin."

"Shut up Sora."

"Oh? Did Ansem give you a backbone between classes?" Sora lowered his hood to reveal a sinister smile and glaring red eyes.

"Just leave us alone and do your work." the auburn haired girl growled.

"Aw now Kairi that isn't very nice, but if you insist." Sora took out three coloured pencils and a sheet of paper and began to draw.

Roxas looked over at Namine and couldn't help but notice that she seemed to be trying not to notice him.

"Great" he though. "Now she hates me."

Roxas began to draw slowly feeling sadness pouring into his heart. He had already lost one friend because of Sora, how many more would he lose?

_**Finally a longer chapter. Thank all of you who put this story on alert and especially the couple of you that commented.**_


	4. Questions

**Ya I know it's been WAY too long since I updated. Well here's the next chapter and hopefully chapter 5 will be up soon. Enjoy**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, any of it's characters, Guitar hero or any of the songs used in this story.**

_They say intelligence is a gift but I say they are wrong. There is a reason that it is always the brilliant that go insane; they all eventually are led to think about the same thing, light. It is only then that they realize the entire world is darkness, and this truth breaks them. I'm different though, I've only been twisted, not broken. After all, you can't break something that was never whole to begin with._

_x0x0x0x_

_The bell rang signalling the end of the day and the quiet art classroom was filled with the sound of closing books and scraping chairs. The students in the room slowly filed out until there were only four of them left; Roxas, Kairi, Namine and Sora. Namine was still drawing and seemed to have not even noticed the bell ringing while Roxas and Kairi each were scribbling their instant messaging address's down on pieces of paper. Sora just sat in his seat and laughed quietly._

"_Wow Roxas that's two friends now must be a new record for you." Sora teased._

"_Are you sitting there just to give me a hard time? Cause if you are just leave, I don't want to hear it."_

"_Awwww but Roxie we're FAMILY!" The tone in which Sora said the last word sent shivers up his spine and caused Sora to started laughing in a slightly deranged way. Kairi stepped back from the two cousins slowly and slid the piece of paper in her hand across the table towards Roxas. She seemed scared._

"_I'll, uh, cya later Roxas." Kairi ran out of the room leaving the cousins and still oblivious Namine with what seemed to be a sleeping Marluxia. Sora stood up slowly and pulled his black hood back over his head, lifting his black and red school bag with his other hand. Sora started to walk out of the room but stopped in the door frame and turned his head towards Roxas._

"_Rot in hell." _

_With a quick step Sora was gone, almost as if he had slipped into the shadows of the school. Roxas shrugged it off and bent towards Namine and shook her shoulder. Namine jumped in her seat and looked at Roxas in shock. Roxas pulled his hand back almost like he had been bitten, surprised by the abrupt jump._

"_Oh my god you scared me, what is it?"_

"_Class is over."_

"_OH! I'd better get packed up then sorry about that. I tend to get so involved in my drawing I lose awareness of my surroundings." Namine said as she packed her notebook and coloured pencils into her bag._

"_So you have no idea what happened all class?"_

"_Nope." Namine turned and smiled at Roxas. "Wanna walk home with me?"_

"_Sure. You had me scared though I thought you hated me."_

"_Why would I hate you?"_

"_Because of my cousin."_

"_Oh, I see why you could think that. Don't worry I'm not going to hate you because your related to that scumbag."_

"_Thank goodness, let's go home now I'm starving!"_

_x0x0x0x_

"_So how was your first day here?" Namine asked quietly as Roxas and her walked towards their houses. _

"_Well other than Sora being a jerk great. I met you and Axel and his friends and Kairi and all them. And most of my teachers seem fine, Ansem even made me an Alchemist." Namine's eyes flew open and Roxas swore that if her jaw could have hit the ground it would have._

"_YOU got made an Alchemist in one class?"_

"_Ya, guess I take after my dad."_

"_Really? Wow your dad must have a great job where does he work?"_

"_Oh, um, this company that, uh……..does science stuff?" Roxas stuttered. Namine looked to the top of the small hill they were walking up to the large house that just recently had a new family move into it when suddenly it hit her._

"_YOU are the new family in the mansion up there!? Oh my god that must be sooooo nice." Roxas blushed and laughed nervously._

"_Do you uh, wanna come see it? I mean you don't have to if you don't want to…"_

"_Sure! My parents won't mind as long as I'm home by dinner."_

"_Cool!" _

_Roxas felt his face heat up as the two continued the walk up the small hill. Did he just invite a girl over on the first day of school? What would his parents think? What would everybody at school say? What would Namine think!? The closer they got to his house, the more Roxas realized, he liked Namine. A lot. _

"_Uhhh Roxas, this is your place right?" Roxas turned around and noticed that he had walked right by his house. _

"_Oh sorry I kind of zoned out there."_

"_Hehehehehe that's okay." Roxas noticed the slight red tinge on Namine's face and couldn't help but wonder if she felt the same way about him. The two walked up the small path to the front door which Roxas opened._

"_Mom I'm home!" Roxas slipped off his shoes as did Namine and they both placed their bags on the bench near the door._

"_Hi Roxas, oh and who is this?"_

"_I'm Namine, I live down the street." _

"_Nice to meet you Namine, Roxas dinner's at six."_

"_Alright, let's go downstairs Namine." The two teenagers walked down the hall and down the stairs to their left to the basement with no noise but the soft whisper from Roxas as he brushed past his mother. _

"_We need to talk."_

_x0x0x0x_

_Sora walked into the Alchemist's room with a slight grunt. The place was too extravagant. Sora loved lavish things; soft couches, large armchairs, regal decorating, but he hated the bright colours the room was in. The yellow colour of the walls would always blind him if he made the mistake of walking in without his hood. He walked into the back near a painting of the moon over a dark forest and pushed in the four corners of the frame causing the bookcase beside it to move to the side revealing another larger room. Inside was one other person._

"_You're late" The silver haired boy said as he fiddled with some chemicals._

"_I wanted to screw with Roxas after class a little more."_

"_I fixed the imbalance we had but as usual another two problems replaced it." Sora looked at the litre sized flask in front of Riku which was a light blue colour and looked milky. _

"_We'll figure it out soon, we've come this far."_

"_We better get some breakthrough soon or Ansem will kick us out of here and we won't be able to make our meth."_

"_YOUR meth." Sora growled. "I don't touch that shit."_

"_Oh sorry your majesty I forgot you only like natural compounds. By the way your opium is in the back cupboard, top shelf."_

_Sora walked to the back of the room to find a large box filled red flowers. _

"_Good I was running low." Sora scooped a hand full of flowers and brought them over to a strange apparatus. He had just begun measuring amounts of certain chemicals and turning on several burners when the door opened and Ansem the Wise walked in._

"_Sora your cousin is likely going to help in this project so I better not hear of any more incidents."_

"_He's an idiot don't worry about him." Sora said as he carefully placed several of the red flowers into a beaker full of water._

"_Regardless, I may ask him to help if you two don't make any progress. That elixir must be completed as soon as possible."_

"_Actually it seems to be more balanced."_

"_And the negative?"_

"_It got milky again, same colour though."_

"_I guess it will work, either way if the two of you want to be able to supply yourselves with your damned drugs you had best come up with something to get us more funding."_

"_There are several weapons in the cabinet that you can send in if needed."_

"_Fine, but don't expect them to last too long, because unless you tell me that formula Sora we won't be guaranteed funding." Ansem walked out of the room as Sora put several objects into the beaker he had boiling, a sneer coming across his face as Ansem left. He would never let that bastard get a hold of his precious formula, even if he died.  
_

"_By the way Sora what did 'she' think of Roxas?"_

"_She seems to like him, nothing to be done about that though we need her to keep acting for her own sake."_

"_What do you think of Roxas?" Sora crushed the empty beaker in his hand to pieces and shook in rage._

"_Don't EVER ask me that AGAIN!"_

"_Sora you're bleeding watch that you don't mix your blood with anything."_

"_I'll make that bastard wish he was never born!" Riku looked up at his enraged friend and for the first time was actually scared of what Sora had in plan._

_x0x0x0x_

"_So what do you want to do Namine?"_

"_Well what is there to do?"_

"_Uhhh just look around."_

"_Roxas your basement alone is probably the size of my house." Namine giggled._

"_Hahaha sorry I guess I'm kind of used to living like this well you ever play Guitar Hero?"_

"_OMG YES let's play!"_

"_Okay over this way, I think I set it up in this room."_

_The two blondes walked to the room Roxas had indicated to find a large screen plasma television with every game system imaginable hooked up to it. In the middle of the room was an electronic set of drums and there were several guitars and other controllers at the side of the room. It had fairly simple furnishings; a large leather couch, two arm chairs and a couple tables._

"_Okay let's make a bet." Roxas looked at Namine scared._

"_If I beat you, you have to sing a song of my choice."_

"_And what about if I win?"_

"_You can ask me any three questions and I have to answer them honestly." _

_Roxas thought about it for a minute. He figured Namine had to be good if she was going to make a bet on it, but he had beaten the game on the hardest difficulty._

"_Deal but it's best two out of three."_

"_Alright let's play!"_

_The two grabbed guitars from the side of the room and started the battle. Roxas picked the first song, his favourite; Paint it Black. He wasn't surprised to see that Namine choose the hardest difficulty to play against him. The two played through the song and waited to see who had the highest score. Roxas won by less than 1000 points._

"_Nooooooo you're supposed to let the girl win!" Namine whined. She then made as silly a pouting face as she could at Roxas making him laugh._

"_Not when there's a bet." Roxas teased._

_Namine chose the next song, When You Were Young and ended up not missing a single note._

"_Wow, I haven't seen that before." Namine just stuck her tongue out at Roxas. The two agreed that there was only one way to end the battle between the two of them, the hardest song in the game; Through the Fire and the Flames!_

_The long song seemed to take forever, with each of the two hitting the exact same notes, it was going to come down to who missed a note first. Then Roxas came up with an idea. Slowly Roxas moved towards Namine until he was standing right beside her. The Roxas bumper his guitar down slowly so he knocked Namine's just enough that she missed a note._

"_That's cheating!"_

"_You never said we couldn't interfere!" Namine grinned._

"_Okay then!" Namine jumped on Roxas, guitar still in hand, making Roxas fall to the ground. Roxas tried to keep playing but found that Namine had pinned him too well. He did manage to make Namine miss most of her notes though so he ended up winning. Roxas turned over to try and sit up and then blushed when he saw the position the two of them were in. Namine was sprawled between Roxas' legs with their faces only an inch apart. The two stared at each other as their faces turned deeper and deeper shades of red. The two lay there for several moments until the awkward moment became unbearable and Namine sat up._

"_Uhhh sorry about that." Namine said quietly. Roxas sat there looking at the blonde girl whose face had turned into the deepest shade of red he had seen a persons skin go in his life. He slowly sat up and scratched his head. _

"_Where's the washroom Roxas?" Namine asked quietly from where she now stood across the room. She was looking away from Roxas, probably trying to hide her red face, much to Roxas' delight since his face had also started to turn a bright red. _

"_Uh straight down the hall, the door should be open." Namine turned towards the hall they had just come done not fifteen minutes earlier and walked quickly to the nearby washroom, entered it, and closed the door. Roxas stayed sitting on the floor thinking of what just happened, the heat slowly receding from his cheeks. Thoughts of Namine raced through his head, leaving him wondering whether or not he just had a crush on Namine but if he was actually developing feelings for her._

"_Sorry about that, I guess you win our bet even if you did cheat." Roxas turned around to see Namine picking up the game controllers they had flung aside in their roughhousing. His eye immediately drifted to her cheeks where he could faintly see remnants of what seemed to be water droplets. _

"_Great now I get to think of really embarrassing questions to ask you." Roxas winked at Namine and saw her cheeks flush slightly again. _

"_Fine but I still want a rematch, and NO CHEATING this time!" Namine said firmly as she planted her hands on her hips. The two of them kept playing until Roxas was called up for dinner and Namine left for home. Roxas escorted her to the door and then walked into the kitchen, the smell of homemade chicken pot pie causing him to drool slightly. Roxas sat down at the table and began helping himself to the steaming hot meal that his mother had just put on the table. His father walked into the kitchen and sat at the head of the table while his mother put her oven mitts and apron away._

_Both of Roxas' parents served themselves food and then began eating. The family of three sat quietly eating for about five minutes before Roxas broke the silence._

"_Alright mom, I can tell you're avoiding it knowing what I wanted to talk to you about. What the fuck happened to Sora!?"_


	5. Sora

This chapter has been updated to remove a paragraph a felt was restricting what I wanted to do with a certain character.

_**Why is it that when something happens to somebody, they beg for justice? What is this justice they speak of? If to do justice is to do what it is right, then it is also to do what is wrong, for even the darkest of actions are seen as light to some. Why is it, that when I do what is right, I am treated as if I am wrong? Where is my justice? Why am I damned to always be in the wrong, why am I always pushed into the darkness?**_

It all happened when Sora was only 9 years old. He was old enough to know right from wrong, good from bad but he was also old enough to appreciate life. It was the evening of the first day of school and Sora was stirring in his bed, unable to fall asleep when he heard a strange noise upstairs. Sora slowly pulled off his covers and opened his bedroom door a crack. The basement was dark, but the light from the nightlight his mother plugged in so that he could find his way to the bathroom lit up the hall just enough so that Sora could see.

Sora walked quietly towards the main room of the basement, the place where his fathers old pistol was; loaded just in case something like this happened. Sora heard a large crash from the upper floor and knew immediately that somebody had broken into the house. He moved as fast as he could while staying quiet to the desk where the gun was hidden, picked the gun out of the hidden compartment underneath and pulled back the hammer.

Sora tiptoed upstairs, fully aware that anybody who dared to sneak into his home would be both well armed, and smart enough to disable a high-tech security system. Sora slowly opened the door from the basement to hear the sound of footsteps going up the main flight of stairs. Sora waited ten seconds and then slowly walked through the main hall towards the stairway. Sora saw the main light in his parents bedroom flash on and heard his mother scream.

"Alright both of you, you are going to tell me EXACTLY where you have the goods hidden, or there are going to be very dire consequences!"

"Do you honestly think that id just give you my fortune just like that?"

BANG!

Sora heard plaster fall to the ground.

"Next time its going to be more than your ceiling taking a bullet, now lead me to the cash!"

Sora heard the shuffle of blankets and the sound of footsteps.

"Calm down, ill get you the money."

Sora knew exactly where the vault was, it was in a perfect position for Sora to shoot the trespasser. Sora heard the two men walking away and poked his head up over the edge of the floor. He had a perfect shot, as long as he didn't falter the man was dead. The man had a shotgun held in his right hand and had a strange device strapped to his left, which he was pointing at Sora's father. Sora aimed at the man, pulled the trigger and shot…but a second too late. Sora sneezed causing his aim to go off as he shoot, and instead of shooting the man in the head he shot him in the chest. Screams of pain and fear filled the room and Sora ducked under the stairs in fright. The man, realizing he had only a few moments left fired the device at Sora's father, the bright blue beam flashing as it struck him in the chest.

Within ten minutes of Sora's mother calling 911 the police and paramedics were both there. They found Sora's father, completely paralyzed on the floor and Sora rocking in a corner saying nothing but "It's my fault" over and over.

x0x0x0x

"Wait, you mean to tell me that every time Uncle Jade couldn't come to a family function was because he cant move, NOT because of business!" Roxas screamed at his mother.

"Roxas calm down!" his father urged.

"The hell I'll calm down, you've been lying to me for 8 years and I'm supposed to be calm!"

"Sit down and shut up!" his father screamed. "You wanted to hear about Sora so you will hear the whole story not just the beginning."

x0x0x0x

Sora walked into his home and turned off all the lights, they were only ever on to ward off invaders. Not that there was anything of value in the small house anyways; everything had been put into safety deposit boxes or was sealed off in Sora's underground lab. Sora closed and locked the door and hung his coat up. Underneath he wore a plain black T-shirt and plain black jeans. An endless number of scars traced their way along Sora's arms, a constant reminder of the pain he inflicted daily on himself.

He deserved it didn't he? Why else would he be plagued by misfortune everywhere he went. His father was as good as dead because of him, his mother died from a heart attack after he had stormed out of the house arguing with her and every person he had ever met shunned him as if he were a monster except for Riku. They were brothers now, brothers of the darkness, two people damned to forever walk in the shadows.

Sora staggered down the hall, his arms throbbing in pain from his latest self inflicted wounds. Sora walked towards one of the red brick walls and pushed a brick into the wall. A small basin that was caked with dried blood was hidden underneath the brick. He and pressed hand, pulled out his knife and sliced his wrist opened, placed it in the basin and waited as his blood pooled into the small hole at the bottom.

"Processing. Identity Confirmed: Sora Balfour. Access Granted."

A series of clicking noises filled the room and a large metal door swung open to admit entrance to a small elevator. Sora pulled his hand out of the wall and stepped inside, pushed the middle button and watched as the door closed. The elevator then slowly started to descend. After the break in that crippled his father, Sora gained total control over his family's estate. He sold their mansion and purchased a small home but had a underground lab built to allow him to continue researching various scientific discoveries. Guns, bombs, medicine, Sora had invented several major devices or drugs under his father's name. As far as the general public knew, his father decided to work at home from now on.

The elevator came to a quiet halt and Sora stepped out of it into a large living room. On the wall to his right was a large screen plasma TV, on the other was a large, black leather couch and speakers for the TV. The TV had several video game consoles hooked up for the odd time that Riku came over; Sora was always busy in the next room. Just a few feet from the elevator was a door that led to Sora's bedroom, across the room was a large steel door with a keypad beside it.

Sora walked over to the keypad and punched in several buttons, with the door sliding open in response. The room lit up once Sora had entered it revealing an enormous room filled with cabinets full of chemicals, various scientific apparatus and several work benches. There were two doors directly opposite Sora, one which led to a storeroom full of various mechanical parts and spare equipment, and another which led to Sora's parents. Sora walked across the room after turning on several burners and walked through the second door, flicking a light switch on as he entered.

"Good Afternoon Father, how are you today?" Sora asked in a seemingly bored tone. Sora sighed.

"And still no improvement, looks like I will just have to work harder."

Sora's father was a tall man with long blonde hair, who was suspended in a strange liquid in what seemed to be a giant capsule. Various tubes were hooked up to the body to supply it with nutrients and fluids and to remove any waste. Sora had been given two options when his father was paralyzed, to leave him in an intensive care unit or take care of him himself; Sora then developed the machine that now held his father to keep him in an artificial coma until Sora would find a way to cure his father. He had been told his father was incapacitated by one of his own a weapons, a device which fried all of the nerves in the body outside of the brain.

Sora checked the various instruments measuring his fathers vitals and left the room. He was in no mood to look at his father or experiment today. He walked over to the two burners he had turned on and poured in several chemicals he had left near the flasks that were now filled with boiling water. He measured out the contents and poured them in, each new chemical creating a puff of smoke and changing the colour of the mixture. Sora finally added in a single dried leaf that was in a box behind him and then turned the heat down to medium. He pulled a sleek black cell phone from his pocket and hit the speed dial to the first of only two numbers in the phone.

"What is it Sora?" a rather annoyed voice said through the phone.

"Do you want to come over and watch a movie or something?" There was a long pause.

"What's wrong, you NEVER just ask me to come over so what's the deal?"

"Riku, please, just come over today hasn't exactly been fun."

"Do you at least fix that elevator so I don't have to slice myself open every time I want to come in?"

"I made the amount you need just a drop and put a pin beside it for you." Sora felt his jaw drop as he heard Riku laugh.

"Hold on for a minute." Sora's phone clicked as Riku hung up on him. Sora walked over to the wall beside the couch and pushed a button, revealing a refrigerator and freezer. Sora pulled out a bar of sea salt ice cream when h heard the elevator door open. Thankfully he hadn't taken the wrapper off yet because he dropped the ice cream when he saw Riku standing in front of him.

"I was parked outside already, I figured you would call."

"Then why did you sound pissed off?"

"I was about to take a hit, now throw me one of those ice cream bars and get ready to have your ass handed to you in Soul Calibur." Sora picked up his ice cream and grabbed a second one for Riku.

"Here, you can set the game up I have the usual cooking up in the lab and I don't wanna over do it."

Riku sighed as his best friend left the room. He wondered just how much longer Sora would need to rely on his stupid anti-depressants to through a single day.

x0x0x0x

"Sora spent the next three weeks in a mental institution, saying nothing but 'It's my fault' over and over. The doctors there were about to declare him clinically insane until Sora did the first rational thing he had done in weeks."

"What was that?"

"He wrote a now famous essay, of course he published it under another name but the credit and royalties all belong to him."

"Wait, you mean to tell me that Sora went from being clinically insane, to a genius in the matter of a day?"

"Oh he may still be out of his mind, either that or suicidal based on what he wrote."

Roxas was afraid to ask his next question, but he knew that if he wanted to know what happened to Sora he would need to know the answer.

"What was the topic?" His father closed his eyes, clearly having hoped Roxas would drop the topic.

"The Nature of the Human Heart."

"Why was that so bad?" Roxas's mother cleared the table of the now empty plates that sat in front of them all and started doing the dishes.

"Because Sora deduced that the nature of the human heart, the very thing which drives us all, the meaning of life if you will, was pure and total darkness. That even the most seemingly pure of intentions, is pure evil."

Roxas felt the colour drain from his face and his jaw slacken.

"He deduced that humans are naturally bad, the only difference between him and every other philosopher that ever had the same thesis, is that nobody has ever come close to proving him wrong."

x0x0x0x

Sora and Riku played video games for several hours, each of them winning as many games as they lost when eventually they got bored. Every so often Sora would slip into his lab to check on his mixture, leaving Riku worried about his friend. Sora had managed to somehow concoct a formula that completely suppressed the emotions of a person for a period of time. The problem was that Sora had been taking increasing amounts over the last year with little to no effect. Sora was being consumed by his own thoughts, his intellect the very thing which was supposed to be his greatest strength was killing him.

Since the day Sora's father had been crippled, Sora had put the blame for anything that happened on himself. If he hadn't of missed he argued, his father would still be well. If it weren't for him leaving the house his mother would have had someone to call the ambulance. If he didn't possess the intellect he did then maybe people would treat him normally, but he had to have flaunted his intelligence and wealth. He'd been beaten, insulted, and shunned for 8 years now, all of which Sora thought was because of some flaw within himself.

Riku looked towards the door where Sora had walked through not five minutes ago and started to become worried. Normally Sora was back within seconds, taking only a glance to make sure his lab wasn't burning down and to take a quick sip of his serum. Riku stood up and walked towards the door and knocked before entering.

"Sora are you okay?"

There was no response.

"Sora seriously this isn't funny." Riku heard laughter from the other side of the door. Laughter that only belonged to a madman. Riku opened the door and ran inside to find Sora on the floor with an empty flask beside him laughing manically.

"Every light must fade, every heart return to darkness. What is the purpose of prolonging the return to darkness when you are in darkness to begin with!"

Riku saw blood flowing from Sora's arms and quickly picked up his friend. He ran to the elevator with Sora slung over his shoulder, still laughing. Riku flipped open his cell phone with his free hand and dialled 911, they knew his number of by heart and would send an ambulance immediately. This wasn't the first time Sora had done this, Riku just hoped it wouldn't also be the last.


	6. Why not?

_**So I know this has taken forever to update and I apologize for that. I was having problems with what direction I wanted to take this story and had to make the transition from high school to university on top of that. Hopefully I won't be too long between updates now that I have a general idea of how I want this story to go.**_

Roxas woke up the next morning to the sound of his alarm clock and the scent of cooking bacon. He got up quickly showered and got dressed and ran downstairs. He walked in the kitchen to find a plate of bacon and scrambled eggs sitting on the table, his father was sitting across the table reading the newspaper. Roxas slowed down as he came close to the table, normally his father would be headed to work by now.

"What's going on dad, is something wrong?" Sora's father put down his newspaper, and removed the piece of toast he had been holding in his mouth.

"I'm going golfing with a few people from the company. You will be glad to hear that Sora is going to be at the gold course in place of your uncle so you won't have to deal with him at school today."

Roxas responded with a thumbs up, his other hand moving blindingly fast from his plate to his mouth as he greedily ate his eggs. When Roxas was done he put his plate and fork in the dishwasher and ran to the door, grabbing his backpack on the way out.

"I'm on my way, have fun at golf dad!" Roxas closed the door as his mother sat down at the kitchen table.

"You should tell him Cloud."

"I know Tifa but I don't think he could handle it today."

x0x0x0x

Roxas walked down the hill slowly, the cool morning breeze refreshing him as he went along. There were few clouds in the sky and the sun was at his back. Roxas continued to walk until he came up to a brown brick house with a brown garage. He walked up the path to the front door and rang the doorbell. He heard the sound of running feet and suddenly the door flew open revealing Namine, who was wearing a pink tank top and jean shorts.

"Mom I'm heading to school now!" Namine yelled as she closed the door. The pair of blondes continued walking towards their school, talking about how their previous day of classes had been and comparing their schedules for the day.

"So we have history together and that's it today, that sucks. You should have a good time in Physics though, Mr. Brunson is supposed to be really funny."

"Anything I should know about my other two teachers?"

"I've never had Mr. Stone but I hear he's really strict and quiet, your philosophy teacher is supposed to be a nightmare though. I don't think they've had a year where one of his former students hasn't been found after committing suicide."

Roxas felt his mind drift to the conversation he and his father had the previous night. Could Sora actually be suicidal? He certainly seemed insane.

"Roxas are you okay?" Namine gently shook his shoulder, the concern evident in her eyes.

"Ya sorry nothing to worry about."

The two walked into the school with only five minutes until classes started, said their good byes and headed towards their first period rooms. Roxas walked into his room to find Axel and Zexion sitting in the back corner. They quickly waved the blonde over and he sat in front of the two.

"Demyx is coming, he just had to go to the washroom." Axel explained. Sure enough, the strange haired friend of theirs walked in and sat beside Roxas just as the morning exercises began. The exercises ended and a tall man with mocha coloured skin, silver hair and orange eyes sat down at the front of the room.

"Hello class, I'm Mr. Dusk but you may call me Xemnas, and I will be your philosophy teacher."

The man rambled on about what they would do over the course of the year and assigned one word of homework. Why? The class stared in shock as they had half an hour to answer a one word question for homework. Once reality had sunk in the class was filled with people talking about their homework; or more commonly about what they did the previous night.

"Done."

Zexion stood up and walked to the front of the room, pen and paper in hand and put the paper on the teacher's desk. Xemnas quickly picked up the sheet and read Zexion's answer.

"And we have our first 100% of the year for Zexion here." The entire class stared at the front of the room with open mouths. Quickly everyone began writing furiously their answer to the question on the bored, even Axel Roxas and Demyx, all the while Zexion was smiling in the back corner. The class ended and everyone packed up.

"Hey Roxas, wanna go to the pizza place around the corner for lunch?" Axel asked as they closed their bags.

"Sure why not, where should we meet?" Suddenly Roxas felt as if a light bulb went off inside his head. Why hadn't he thought of it earlier!? He quickly pulled out a piece of paper and wrote his name and two words on it. Demyx and Axel stared at the spiky haired boy while Zexion starting laughing quietly to himself.

"Uhh we'll meet in front of the caf, something wrong?" Axel asked as he stared at Roxas.

"Nope, just figured out the answer to the question on the board." Xemnas smiled as he listened to the boys. "Alright I'll catch you guys at lunch I'm off to history!" Roxas ran out the door, quickly placing the piece of paper on the teachers desk as he left. Axel and Demyx stared wordlessly at the blonde as he ran out the door.

"Zexion, what is the answer to that question?" Demyx asked suspiciously. Zexion looked towards the teacher.

"Tell them." Xemnas responded as he chuckled.

"Why not?" Zexion and Xemnas burst out into laughter as Axel smacked his forehead so hard he almost knocked himself over.

x0x0x0x

Roxas walked into history class, his glee in his finding the perfect answer to his philosophy homework evident in the slight hop he had as he walked into the room. He quickly spotted Namine and took a seat beside her near a window.

"You seem to be in a good mood." Namine giggled.

"I just got 100% on our first philosophy assignment." Roxas said enthusiastically. Namine felt her jaw drop. The bell rang and a tall man with wavy brown hair walked into the room and sat at his desk.

"I'm Mr. Stone but you may call me Lexaeus, come pick up a sheet from the front and read it quietly. You have no work for today, text books will be in next class."

As soon as he finished speaking the class went up to the front of the room and picked up their course outlines and read them quietly at their desks. Anyone who spoke was quickly met with a glare from the teacher leaving the room deathly silent for the vast majority of the period. The bell finally rang and the class quietly filed out of the room. Once Namine and Roxas were in the hallway they looked at each other in fright.

"That class is going to be hell. I can't believe we had to be silent the entire time!" Namine semi-screamed in exasperation. "Anyways, wanna grab some lunch?"

"Sorry, I've got plans." Roxas apologized as he scratched his head in embarrassment.

"Well aren't you just mister popular, I guess I'll see you at the end of the day out front." Namine said with a smirk on her face. Roxas laughed.

"Alright cya later!" Roxas ran off towards the front of the cafeteria to meet up with his other friends; Namine headed towards the other side of the cafeteria where food was being sold. She walked through the small hallway leading from one of the drama rooms to the cafeteria when suddenly she felt a hand over her mouth and around her waist. The next thing she knew she was in a dark room and was sitting on a chair.

"Well well well, it seems your good friend Roxas has left you alone for lunch. Interestingly enough his cousin is...incapacitated at the moment so I think we'll spend lunch together."

Namine felt her blood run cold as she realized who had taken her. But where had Riku brought her to?

"Now Namine, you must be parched from your morning classes care for a drink?" Namine looked up and saw Riku, his hood down revealing his silver hair and blindfolded face. In his hand was a glass containing a strange red liquid.

""Don't worry, I'm not going to drug or poison you, you just aren't worth the waste." Namine grabbed the glass in disgust as Riku began laughing. She took a quick sip and immediately spat it all over the floor. In the glass was blood, human blood presumably. Riku sighed.

"I understand, it is an acquired taste I would imagine." Riku took a quick sip from the glass. He began pacing around the room, coming to rest against what appeared to be a desk; Namine couldn't tell in the dark.

"You see Namine, Roxas' appearance at our fine school as troubled Sora so much he overdosed on a drug he concocted in his lab, so I'm afraid I'm going to have to exact revenge upon Roxas. Unfortunately for you, you have won the opportunity to be my medium!" Namine could barely start screaming when she felt her mouth be filled with cloth and her hands tied behind her back. A flick of his wrist and a silver knife appeared in Riku's hands. For the first time ever Namine was afraid for her life.

"You may be wondering at this point, why me? Well a better question my dear Namine would be, why not?"

Namine tried to scream as she felt cold metal on her wrist, but the cloth prevented any sound from escaping her mouth. Riku made up for her silence with his maniacal laughter.

X0x0x0x

"Yo Roxas!"

The blonde turned on the spot to see Axel Demyx and Zexion standing by a trophy case near the cafeteria doors. He slowly made his way over to the trio, weaving in and out of groups of people trying not to hit them. When he finally reached his new friends Axel grabbed his arm and pulled him through an even larger crowd until they were out front of the school.

"I figured we could actually hear each other out here." Axel grinned as he spoke.

"Where should we go?" asked Zexion. Demyx quickly grabbed Zexion and Roxas' hands and dragged them towards the street.

"Pizza!!!!" screamed the overly hyper blonde as he bolted down the street, his two friends stumbling to keep up with the pace he was setting. Axel stare at his three friends bolting down the road for several seconds before he realized he would have to run and catch up with them.

The four friends eventually arrived at a small family based pizza parlour, tucked in behind all of the other stores and restaurants in the strip mall by the school. The place was deserted except for the owner, the four entrants and a single person in the far back corner eating a slice of cheese pizza with a black hoodie covering their face. They wore black and white converse shoes and had tight black jeans on. On their hands were several rings with different patterns. The boys ignored the person and walked up to the counter where there was a fat, balding man with a thick black moustache and a thin layer of stubble on his face. He wore a pair of plain jeans and an apron over his white shirt.

"This is our new friend Roxas Gino, he just moved into town recently!" Demyx explained energetically as the man welcomed the four boys.

"Nice to meet you Roxas. What do you four boys want today, the usual I take it?" Zexion nodded in reply then looked at Roxas.

"Ill just have a slice of pepperoni pizza and a coke please."

The man got slices of pizza and drinks for the four boys who preceded to sit down in the corner opposite the mysterious person.

"So how was your morning Roxy?" Roxas glared at the red head who was talking to him.

"Don't call me that, you have no idea how annoying it is. My morning was fine though, Mr. Stone is a little scary though I don't think the class said a single word for forty-five minutes."

The friends ate their lunch and told each other about their teachers and classes and headed back to the school for the afternoon's classes. When they got back onto school property they saw an ambulance leaving the school but were shocked to see that nobody was crowded near it. They ran into the main office where Roxas saw a trembling Namine, who was so white she looked like she was a ghost. Roxas ran over towards his friend who as soon as she saw him threw her arms around him and started sobbing.

"Oh my god Roxas I thought he was going to kill me!"

Roxas turned to look at his three friends who were trying to get an explanation from the secretary. Roxas felt a hand on his opposite shoulder and turned to find the principal looking down at him.

"Roxas I think you and Namine should step into my office." The man guided the boy and his friend to a pair of chairs in the office directly behind the secretary's desk. The two teenagers sat down, and Namine who seemed to have calmed down waited anxiously for what the principal was going to say.

"Roxas, it seems that Riku pulled Namine into an empty classroom and held her against her will with the intent on torturing her." Roxas felt his jaw slacken and the colour drain from his face. He could have sworn the room had started to spin ever so slightly as well.

"Apparently he had a knife to her wrist when suddenly he collapsed. Is this correct Namine?"

"Yes Principal Leonheart."

"Riku has been sent to the hospital for his fainting and I am sending both you and Namine home for the day. Namine if you would go get your things I need to speak to Roxas." Namine left the room and as soon as the door closed Roxas felt the tension lessen slightly.

"Alright Leon what the hell is going on!?" Roxas growled.

"Listen Roxas, from what I've been told by Namine this all happened because Sora overdosed last night on one of his crazy experiments. Riku, wanting revenge, targeted Namine because he felt she was closest to you. I think you need to talk to your deranged relative before this gets out of hand." Roxas could feel himself shaking as he was flooded with anger.

"You mean to tell me Sora attempted suicide so his demented friend tried to get back at me by hurting my friends! Then you're right I am going to pay him a little visit, RIGHT FUCKING NOW!" Roxas stood up and made his way towards the door, but stopped when he felt his uncle's hand on his shoulder.

"Why don't you spend the afternoon with Namine first, she's pretty shaken up. And besides, your mother will be happy that you finally got a girlfriend." Leon winked at his younger relative and laughed as Roxas's face turned from red to pink as he stormed out of the office.


	7. Perfect Insanity

_**I can't even begin to describe the frustration I've felt trying to write another chapter. Every time I try to sit down and write one I look back to this chapter and realize just how little I like it. For all of you waiting for an update to this story here it is; I'm changing this last chapter, I don't like where it was going. I'm so sorry it took so long for me to finally do this; I hope that the next update won't be nearly as far away.**_

"_**Light thinks it is faster than everything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it." - Terry Pratchet**_

Roxas waited patiently at the front of the school for Namine to come out with her belongings. He could hardly contain the anger that he was feeling about Sora. From time to time the anger would get a hold of him and he would start to shake. Why did Namine get targeted by that sick bastard because Sora overdosed? And more importantly, did his father not know about Sora, or was he telling Roxas more lies. Roxas felt a hand on his shoulder and he turned around to see Leon standing behind him.

"Namine will be out in a minute, I just sent her to get your things for you. I understand how you are feeling right now but try to hold yourself together. Just think how much worse Namine feels at the moment."

Roxas turned around to his cousin, his head bowed and his hands clenched into fists so tightly that his fingernails were cutting into the palms of his hands.

"Does my mom know about Sora?"

"I would assume so; your father is listed as Sora's next of kin in case of a medical emergency."

"So you're telling me that the two of them are lying to me again?"

"You mean they didn't tell you?"

"No, I was told Sora was going golfing today."

"They must have a reason for telling you that Roxas, anyways here comes Namine. May I recommend the ice cream parlour on Front Street? They say it's a particularly good spot for first dates."

Roxas glared at his uncle and went to throw a punch, which Leon easily caught.

"I may only be a few years older than you, but I'm still decades ahead of you in terms of combat prowess."

"Roxas! Why are you punching the Principal!"

Roxas lifted his head in horror to see Namine staring at him.

"Roxas is actually my nephew Namine. I guess I made a comment he didn't like about his personal life. Anyways, you two go relax, I'm sure you need it after what just happened."

Leon walked into the school leaving Roxas and Namine alone. Roxas still was facing the ground and couldn't control his shaking. His hands were still clenched in fists.

"Roxas, are you…okay?"

"I'm…I'm fine, I mean, nothing can be nearly as bad as what happened to you."

Roxas felt his anger being replaced with shame as he looked at Namine. Maybe it was the way the light was shining on her, or the way her hair was after running through the halls but to Roxas she seemed as if she was incredibly weak, as if she were absolutely powerless. After what had just happened to her there was no doubt in Roxas' mind that that was exactly how she felt at the moment. The more he stared at her the more he realized just how pretty she was. He noticed a slight pink tinge on her cheeks as he looked into her eyes for the first time since he had started staring at her.

"What are you staring at Roxas, is there something on my face, oh god don't tell me my makeup is all smudged!"

"N-n-no no it's nothing I just sort of lost myself in my mind for a second, it happens every so often. Say, do you want to go get some ice cream? My uncle was telling me about this place on Front Street that is supposed to be really good." Namine giggled at Roxas as he sheepishly looked at the blonde girl with his right hand scratching the back of his head nervously.

"You mean the place that is supposedly really good to take somebody on a first date?" Namine laughed even harder as Roxas' face turned several different shades of red in the span of three seconds.

"Th-that's not-"

"I know I'm just teasing. There's no way you could be THAT attracted to me in a matter of days. Come on let's go get some ice cream!"

Namine grabbed Roxas' hand and pulled him along while running at full speed towards the ice cream parlour. _Of course he couldn't Namine, only you are enough of a fool to fall for somebody after meeting them once._

x0x0x0x

Darkness.

What a familiar sight. Sora looked around in every direction only to find nothing but total darkness; not even the slightest glimmer of light. It's not like he was expecting to see any, this was at least the seventh time that he had intentionally put himself in this state. To everyone else, Sora was just overdosing on a drug he had created to numb his feelings, to make it so he was incapable of feeling all but the strongest emotions. In reality Sora had found a way to enter his subconscious. The chemical he had discovered actually put him in a dream like state for several days while he walked around in his mind. Or rather, wandered around in his mind since all he could see before him was an endless abyss.

Sora stuck his right hand into the pocket of his coat and closed his fingers around a small stone figure. He pulled it out of his pocket to find a clear crystal horse, which radiated with a soft warm light. The light didn't reach as far as Sora's feet from where he held it, but it was light nonetheless; his only light. The first time Sora entered a trance like this he didn't have this small trinket, nor did he need it. The first time Sora took this drug Sora could see the dark cloudy sky above him, and the cold barren earth underneath his feet.

This was his heart; a dark barren land devoid of life. As a child if Sora had entered this state the place would no doubt an ocean of the deepest blue, with the warmth of the sun beating down upon his face. But now when Sora cast his sliver of light upon something all he saw was jagged rock, grey sand or dark water. He could no longer see the sky for which he was named, though he could hear the rumbling of thunder. This is what life had become for Sora; a prison of darkness.

x0x0x0x

I can't help but feel disappointed as Namine's words repeat themselves in my head. "There's no way you could be THAT attracted to me in a matter of days." The way she said it just seemed as if she was saying to feel that way would be weird, irrational, or stupid. I don't really know what it is about her but something just makes me feel as if we were destined to meet; like we were long lost friends who had finally caught up with each other after years apart.

After taking another taste of my sea salt ice cream I look up at Namine. She seems to be mindlessly looking around at miscellaneous objects as she eats her chocolate ice cream cone; probably trying to forget about what had happened at lunch. Before I can turn my attention back to my ice cream her head turns and her eyes are locked onto mine. I feel the blood rush to my face in embarrassment, she probably thinks that I've been staring at her for a while now and I can't help but look away.

"So how long were you staring at me hmmmm?" I turn my head and see that Namine has leaned over the table so that her face is mere inches from mine. The scent of vanilla mixed with chocolate ice cream fills my head; just how did she manage to smell this good?

"I-I wasn't you just happened to look up as I was looking in that direction." I back away slightly as Namine begins to smile. Her smile only makes my face feel even hotter. I can't help but be worried about what's going through her mind right now. Does she like me? Does she think I'm a creep?

"Suuuuuuuuure, then why is your face so red?"

"W-well I…I...uhh…" I try to find the words to explain myself but I can't. It's been forever since I developed feelings for somebody and the last time ended up in my best friend going out with her. To this day I can't help but feel a little bitter at Hayner for asking Olette out knowing I liked her that much. But here I was now, with one of the best looking girls in our school inches away from me, interrogating me about why I was looking at her. Then suddenly my eyes notice something on her face; her cheeks are tinged pink ever so slightly. Does she feel the same way about me? Maybe I should just ask her, or will that ruin our friendship after only being friends for a couple days? Slowly I can see her inching forward, the space between our faces closing so that we could feel each other's breathe on our faces. Every relationship opportunity I had was ruined by me trying to sit back and let things develop; maybe for once I should take a chance!

My eyes look down and find her mouth ever so slightly open, the only reason I could notice at all was because of the short distance between us. I tilt my head slightly and decide to go for it, she has to feel the same way or she wouldn't be doing this. I stall for a split second when suddenly the sound of crashing patio furniture and groans fills my ears. I turn around and there I see my other new friends, Axel Demyx and Zexion all on the ground on top of each other.

x0x0x0x

"Damnit Demyx get off of me, got it memorized?"

"Ya ya ya, I'm getting up Captain Inconspicuous."

Roxas turned away from Namine, his face more red from anger than embarrassment. He stood up and began walking over to the three guys who were slowly standing up and brushing dirt off of themselves.

"Would either of you like to explain what the hell you are doing here?" Roxas growled at the trio. Zexion and Axel both pointed at Demyx who was busy fixing his hair.

"Idiot." Zexion gestured towards the blonde haired boy beside him, who still seemed oblivious to the fact that Roxas was staring at him so intently that you would swear his sight alone would bore a hole through Demyx's skull.

"The two of us saw this tool sneaking off of campus and decided to follow him. Next thing we know he's hiding behind a plant looking at something. You can't really blame us for being curious about that."

"In case you hadn't noticed I don't particularly care about WHY you were spying on me, now get the HELL OUT OF HERE!"

"OH my god hi Roxas!"

Axel and Zexion stared blankly at the idiot between them, unable to comprehend just how he was so stupid, before they each picked him up by one of his arms and began carrying him away from the ice cream parlour. Roxas made sure the three friends had vacated the area and turned around to find Namine nowhere in sight.

x0x0x0x

Roxas walked into his house to find the building filled with the smell of garlic bread and tomato sauce. He set his bag down and walked into the kitchen far the dinner that he knew he was late for. His parents were already part way through there meal when Roxas sat down with a plate full of pasta and a piece of garlic bread in his mouth.

"Leon called earlier so we know why you're late." Cloud said as he went to place his empty plate in the dishwasher.

"So when do we get to meet this girl?" Tifa said with a grin.

"What the hell did Uncle Leon tell you!"

"That you and a girl were skipping the afternoon's classes to go get ice cream." Cloud chuckled.

"I take it he neglected to mention that that was based on his instructions because of one Sora's friends basically kidnapped her."

Tifa dropped the pot that she was now washing back into the sink she had just picked it up from.

"Ya, that's right, and by the way he also told me why Sora REALLY was absent from classes today. Care to tell me why you are hiding stuff from me even after we've already had this exact same discussion!"

"Finish your dinner and get your coat." Cloud said firmly.

"Why?"

"Because you are going with me to visit Sora in the hospital."

Roxas stared blankly at his father, the shock clearly visible on his face.

"What?"

x0x0x0x

Riku sat in the hospital room beside his friend Sora. Sora had been unconscious for several hours after his stomach had been pumped and only one other visitor had bothered coming to see him. They had just left, leaving Riku to watch Sora. Several machines were beeping in the background and an IV of painkillers was hooked up to Sora's arm.

Riku knew that Sora needed this to happen every few months; Sora only ever slept for about four hours a night and the medicine induced sleep would give him several days to recuperate. Every time Sora had overdosed on his formula Riku had been there; Riku could tell when Sora was likely to OD. There were two times of year that Sora would end up in the hospital like this without fail, Christmas and after exams. This time, Riku figured the appearance of Roxas triggered Sora's latest episode.

A day had passed since Riku had been admitted for his fainting spell. The only time he left his friend's room was to get something to eat. Sora's only other visitor showed up after school and left around dinner time. Then suddenly Sora woke up. At first Riku thought Sora was just stirring in his sleep. Then he heard Sora speak.

"Who's there?" Sora whispered weakly.

"Riku. You know who left a few hours ago. It's now 9:30pm on Thursday September 6th."

"I take it I overdosed again?"

"Yup."

Sora sighed.

"Thanks man, you knew it would happen didn't you?" Sora sat up and faced Riku; the crimson contacts had been taken out of his eyes revealing their true colour, ocean blue. Riku smiled slightly at his friend.

"What can I say, I know you a little too well. I'm gonna assume you are starving."

"Fuck yes I am, let's get the hell outta here and grab some food."

Riku laughed as he walked out of the room to get a nurse. Sora looked across the room to where his black shirt jeans and coat were hanging when his doctor came into the room and locked the door.

"Sora, once again if it wasn't for Riku you would be dead right now." The young woman had brown hair tied back in a braid and wore a pink dress under her doctor's coat. "I know it's hard for you to control your emotions but please Sora, stop using that formula. Your mother made me promi-"

"Aerith don't you DARE finish that sentence." Sora growled.

"As your godmother I can't help but be worried about you."

"Get this damned IV out of my arm, clear me for release and I'll see you again in three months or so."

Aerith sighed.

"On one condition; you aren't allowed to live by yourself anymore, either move in with someone or convince somebody to live with you."

"You seem to think that there is further reason for concern."

"I know about Roxas."

Sora looked down at his hands and realized they were bound to his bed.

"I don't give a damn about my poor excuse for a cousin, unbind my damn arms and let me go."

"Why don't you tell that to both him and your Uncle then, because they are coming into the room now."

Sora watched in horror as Aerith unlocked the door to reveal two sets of spiky blonde hair. He didn't suspect his Uncle Cloud and Roxas to be there.

x0x0x0x

Roxas and his father walked into the hospital to see Sora bound to his bed, a look of shock on his face. The first thing Roxas noticed was that Sora's eyes had changed from red to the deepest blue he had ever seen. The look of shock quickly turned into one of rage as Sora starting thrashing in an attempt to be free from his bed.

"Get. Them. OUT OF HERE!" Sora screamed. Roxas' father stepped forward and nodded at Aerith to lock the door again.

"Sora calm down, we won't be here for long I just wanted to -"

"To what, blame me for your brother being crippled, to remind me that it's my fault my mother died, to make me stare at Captain Sunshine beside you!"

"Sora, calm d-"

"You are like all the rest of the people out there, blinded by the light, your vision twisted by your manufactured joy. I will hear NOTHING from one who has never acknowledged the darkness!"

Roxas stepped towards Sora and slugged him in the face. The gasps by his father and Aerith were drowned out by Sora's roar of anger.

"Sora, THAT was for all the times you've lied to me." Roxas stood in front of his cousin, until suddenly Sora started to laugh manically.

"Is that all I need to pay for that hmmm? Well let me promise you something Roxas, I am going to make you wish you were dead, I will make you see the darkness as I have, and after all is said and done you are going to THANK me. So enjoy what little of life you can Roxas, because I am going to make your life a living hell.

Sora broke out into hysterics once he had finished talking leaving Roxas to stagger back towards in father in horror. It was just as his father had told him; Sora really was insane.


	8. Guardian Angel

So it's late at night and I'm bored as hell so I figured, might as well write a new chapter for this story instead of doing my readings for class. Consider this the first of several chapters focused mainly on my favourite character in the series. Who is it? Well, read on and find out. ; ) And please,, if you are enjoying this story leave me a review, even if its some constructive criticism, hearing from you guys is what keeps me doing this and a lack of reviews is what originally pushed this story to the back of my mind all those months ago. Anyways, enjoy.

_**x0x0x0x**_

_**I am the forgotten one, the person who is always there but never seen. The person who shouts and screams but is never heard. But most of all I am your friend; I look on as you walk through life and pick you up when you fall. My wings may be black as night, and my heart may be immersed in darkness but I am always there, your one and only guardian angel. **_

Riku woke up to the sound of an annoying digital beeping and looked over at his alarm clock. He wasn't used to getting up at 6:00am but it was the only way he would get to have a shower now before all the hot water was used up. After Sora's recent episode in the hospital Riku was asked to come live with him. Riku gladly accepted the invitation, but knew that with Sora's tendency to take half an hour in the shower he would be screwed if he woke up after him.

Riku had no particular attachment to his parents or home; in fact he downright despised his mother and despite the respect he had for his father's success, he could never love the man. To them he was either a tool or an expensive first, never a son. His younger siblings were always what mattered; his brother was the athlete his father used to be and his sister was the daughter his mother always wanted. He was the chaff, the unwanted, unnecessary, and unloved child of the family. The only people who ever cared about him were Sora, and his grandparents. Riku's grandfather had died years before and it looked like his grandmother was about to lose her battle with Alzheimer's. His other Grandparents though had disowned him after an argument about why he believed that religion was evil. He broke their hearts and for that they threw his away. The only great-grandparent he knew was the person in his life he cherished the most until he had become friends with Sora, and he had been the last member of his family to see her alive.

The death of his Great-Grandmother had been especially traumatic, and had made his view of life twisted and cruel. Since that day he slowly fell into darkness, watching in horror as everything that ever mattered to him, everything he ever cared about was taken away. All he had left now was Sora, and he wouldn't lose his final lifeline without a fight. Sora was the only one who Riku ever felt a real connection with. The 'friends' he had before Sora either betrayed him or had started ignoring him as Riku became darker and darker. But Sora was different, Sora had been cast into the same darkness that he had, and as a result a bond formed between the two.

Riku threw the covers of off himself and swung his legs over his bed. The wooden floor felt cold on his feet as began to walk towards the washroom. He grabbed a set of clothes and a towel as he left his room and tried to be as quiet as he could so he wouldn't wake up his still sleeping friend. Riku knew Sora had trouble sleeping so he always did his best to let his friend rest when he could.

Riku closed the washroom door, flicked on a single light and the fan and proceeded to strip down. Sora's shower was unlike anything Riku had ever seen, with almost a dozen different heads coming from every direction. The water was hotter than any other shower Riku had ever had, even on low settings and something was mixed into it that always left him feeling invigorated. No doubt Sora had created whatever it was himself. After 15 minutes of pure bliss Riku turned the shower off and finished getting ready for the day. When he stepped out of the washroom he found Sora leaning against the washroom door frame in a pair of black flannel pants and a dark red t-shirt.

"If you used all the hot water I will kill you."

"Dude, what the hell is mixed into that water, it was like the fountain of youth?"

"My little secret, don't worry it's totally natural."

"Whatever, all I can say is that alone is worth moving in with you."

"God Riku, by the way you were talking you would think you hated to be around me." Sora quipped as he closed the washroom door.

Riku sighed at shook his head, a small smile on his face. _That's more like Sora._

Riku walked down the hall and into the area that was supposed to be a kitchen. The entire area was covered in books when Riku came over the night before and one of the stipulations of him staying with Sora was that he actually had some place to cook. After working in various restaurants for the last 7 years Riku had developed quite a flair for the culinary arts, and even had developed a few of his own recipes. Riku opened the fridge door to find nothing but junk and the few groceries he had got the night before. He pulled out some eggs, sausage patties and cheese and set to work on preparing breakfast. By the time Sora was done his shower Riku was sitting down eating his breakfast with a cup of coffee. Sora walked in and stared and the strange food on a plate where he normally sat.

"It's a breakfast sandwich, you'll like it."

"What the hell kind of bread is that though? I recognize the other stuff."

"It's an English muffin, now sit down and eat it, god knows you probably haven't had real food since the last time you went out for dinner."

Sora looked at the strange sandwich one last time before picking it up and biting into it. The look on Sora's face changed from suspicion to sheer delight and he quickly ate the delicious food.

"You know Riku, you could run a restaurant if you really wanted to if something as mundane as this tastes this good."

Riku just smiled at his friend as he finished his coffee. _Maybe one day Sora, maybe one day…_

X0x0x0x

Riku pulled into the student parking lot in his sleek black Porsche. All of the windows were fully tinted so that nobody could see inside the vehicle and the stereo was loud enough to be heard clearly from outside of the car. The loud snarls and screams of Riku's favourite bands were a warning to the other student's in the parking lot to keep there distance from his precious vehicle, which he had received from Sora as a gift once he got his driver's licence. The only condition was the Riku drive Sora to and from school.

"I gotta go talk to a couple teacher's before class, I'll see you later." Sora whispered as he walked off towards the school. Riku watched to make sure he was gone then pulled out a small black leather case from underneath the driver's seat and discretely put it into his messenger bag.

The rest of the students avoided Riku like the plague; they knew that if they so much as looked at him the wrong way he would think twice about beating the living daylights out of them. It was a well known fact that Riku had almost been expelled for absolutely demolishing some poor kid who had done something to piss him off. It was well known because there was a photograph of Riku forcing the bloodied kid to kiss his shoes. Riku didn't mind this reputation, in fact he loved it. It kept all the annoying people away from him. He looked down at the rest of the school; they were unable to see the world as it truly was and for that they didn't deserve his attention. There were only three other people who had ever shared the same view of the world as him, and one was Sora.

Riku had about half an hour before he had to be in his classroom and decided he needed a little more than a hot shower and good breakfast to get him going this morning. He slowly worked his way to the back of the school, carefully making sure that nobody noticed where he was going. Finally he reached his usual secret place; behind the large oak tree that overlooked the small creek which ran behind the school. He pulled out the small black case and opened it revealing a small vial of a clear liquid, a small strip of rubber, and several clean syringes. He rolled his right sleeve up and tied the rubber strip around his arm and waited for his veins to be visible. He then withdrew a small amount of the liquid from the vial from the syringe and injected it into his arm. He cleaned his kit up and enjoyed the light breeze that was blowing. He eventually stood up and headed towards his classroom, the crisp autumn leaves crunching beneath his feet as he headed towards the building. Once he was out of sight Sora stepped out from behind another tree about a hundred meters away and sighed. _Riku, how much longer does this have to go on?_

X0x0x0x

As Riku walked through the halls of the school he could feel the drugs starting to kick in, the familiar numbing feeling beginning in his fingers. As he walked through the foyer of the school he noticed a table with several flyers on it, with the words 'Talent Show' on a bright piece of poster board hanging from it. He looked around to make sure nobody saw him filling out the form and quickly wrote a couple words on one of the applications and dropped it in the box on the table. _This should provide a little entertainment for those gossiping idiots._ Riku smirked under his hood as he walked towards his classroom, the ideas for his performance running through his mind.

When Riku reached his classroom he walked to the back and took his usual seat. The entire class was chatting quietly about the talent show that would be held at the end of the week, with several people talking about whether or not to enter and a couple individuals looking for partners for acts. Eventually Roxas and Axel sat down in front of him and were talking about the papers they had written about each other for Saix. When Riku heard that Axel was planning on entering the competition and was trying to encourage Roxas to do so he couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"What the hell is your problem Riku?" asked Roxas.

"The talent show is just an excuse for losers like you to feel like you can actually do something with your lives."

"You know what Riku, I'm going to enter just to prove you wrong. I will win the competition and you will still just be a miserable nobody who everybody hates. The fact that you get your kicks out of torturing girls just makes me sick."

"If that is all it takes for me to make you sick then you better stay the hell away from me or you will find yourself with a permanent feeling of nausea."

Saix entered the room as Riku finished talking and asked if anybody had their papers done a day early. Several sets of partners walked to the front of the room and handed in their papers. Riku just sat quietly in the back of the room. He had no need of listening to any of his teachers, he was already far more brilliant than any of them except Ansem the Wise. _Today is going to be a long day. _As the chemicals in his blood began to reach their full effect he leaned back in his chair and sighed. _A long day indeed._


	9. Hit me, PLEASE!

_**Sorry for the delay boys and girls but things haven't been to pleasant on this end of the interwebz. Here's hoping to better times and more chapters!**_

As Roxas walked into his music class he couldn't help but feel excited. Today was the day that they finally got their instruments and he was anxious to see which of his three choices he actually got. They would have received the instruments the day before but apparently almost the entire class wanted to play percussion so Larxene needed more time to sort out people's second and third choices while trying to not totally screw somebody over.

Roxas watched as Demyx pulled out his sitar and tuned it, his fingers crossed as Larxene finally walked into the room, a book with what appeared to be a single sheet of paper in her hand.

"All right listen up because I don't want to repeat this. Like I said yesterday apparently we have twenty people who all are aspiring drummers but there are only two drum kits. The rest of you either got your second or third choices except for a single person."

Every student in the room tensed up immediately. Nobody wanted to be the odd person out and most people knew they weren't going to get their first choice. Roxas turned his head towards the lone grand piano at the far side of the room, praying that nobody else had chosen it.

"First of all let's get the most sought after instrument out of the way. The drummers for this class will be Kairi and Pierce."

Roxas looked towards the back of the room and realized that the auburn haired girl from his art class was in his music class as well and saw her fist pumping at actually getting her first pick. The other boy who was clearly into rock music raised his fist into the air, his forefinger and pinkie sticking out to the sides.

"Next will be violins, which go to Alexandra, Tidus, Jessica and Roxas."

Roxas didn't hear the names of the people for the other instruments. He had been the single person who didn't get one of their choices. Instead he would have to spend the rest of the year playing an instrument he had no interest in. Once everybody had their name called out they were instructed to collect their instruments from the back of the room or sit at their drum kits, then get reseated in a spot corresponding with their instrument.

As Roxas grabbed the violin with his name on it he couldn't help but notice that nobody was seated at the piano. He would have to speak to the teacher after class, maybe there was just a mix up because he didn't notice anybody missing.

Once everybody was seated they were all taught the first three notes they would need on their instruments. Finally they would get to actually play music. Larxene raised her baton ready to start conducting when a dark hooded figure walked into the back of the room and sat down at the piano.

"I see that you are actually going to show up like you promised Sora, turn to page 4, you should know the notes by heart but at least you can see the song name."

Sora pulled off his gloves, cracked his knuckles then looked towards Larxene as he waited for her to begin. The notes which came from the piano were clearly not just the basic ones that the book had written down for beginners, but a full two-handed symphony that accompanied the music perfectly.

Roxas played his violin as well as he could for a beginner who could barely contain his rage. By the end of the class Roxas was beyond upset. He shoved his music book into his bag and hastily packed up his violin. Before Demyx had even finished putting his music away Roxas was out the door. Demyx looked back towards Sora and just shook his head. Sora laughed.

"You aren't the only musical genius here Demyx, here allow me to play your namesake as you leave the stage."

Demyx threw his sitar case over his shoulder and walked out of the room as a dark yet enchanting tune left the music room. _A melodious nocturne indeed Sora, Chopin is way too beautiful for somebody like you to be playing._

x0x0x0x

Axel and Zexion were already in the cafeteria when Roxas stormed into the hall, his lunch in hand. The two friends sighed as they saw the blonde head towards them. Roxas sat down beside Axel and attacked the ham sandwich that he pulled out of his lunch bag.

"Do I even want to know?" the red head asked the blonde. Roxas just chewed on his lunch as Demyx took a seat across from the red head.

"One person in our music class didn't get an instrument they wanted and it looks like it was Roxas."

"Ouch, what did you want Roxy?" Roxas swallowed the last of his sandwich and looked towards the red head who was asking all the questions.

"I wanted to play piano since I actually know the basics but my bastard cousin got it when I didn't even think he was in the class."

Axel looked at Demyx after Roxas had finished speaking.

"Didn't Sora fail music in middle school? I thought you couldn't take music if you did."

"Ya but he also never showed up. Even though they don't have a Grade 9 music course here I didn't think they would let him in after that."

"Any idea why they might?"

"Well Axel, it might be because I would usually have to pay a fair amount of money to listen to somebody as good as him play."

The four friends were interrupted when a blonde girl in a white tank top and a pair of denim shorts came up and tapped Roxas on the shoulder. Roxas turned around and smiled at his friend, he already knew why she was here. It was part of the reason why he finished his lunch so quickly.

"You ready? If we don't get to work you won't have time to finish."

"Yup, sorry guys, Namine is helping me finish the art assignment we have due this afternoon, I'll catch up with you after school."

The blonde boy packed up the trash from his lunch and left the table with the girl. His three friends stared at each other awkwardly for a few seconds before Demyx broke the silence.

"I give it a week before they hook up."

Zexion punched him in the shoulder and started eating his lunch again.

x0x0x0x

Roxas punched in a few keys and the door to the Alchemist's room slid open. Roxas was surprised to find it totally empty and quickly walked over to a table with Namine. They sat down and pulled out their art supplies and sketchbooks then started talking about how to finish Roxas' drawing.

"So Roxas, what did you decide to draw?"

"Here take a look." Roxas pushed his sketchbook towards Namine and she opened the cover to see a rough sketch of a single sunflower facing the sky.

"What do you need help with! This drawing is fine! All you are missing is some shading."

Roxas held his hand behind his head and smiled, the embarrassment clearly showing on his face.

"Well I didn't like how I didn't have anything in the background and thought you might think of something that I could sketch in quickly."

"I would just put in a couple light fluffy clouds in the sky, there's no need to clutter the page with unnecessary stuff."

"Alright, sorry to waste your time like this." Roxas grinned, the embarrassment evident on his slightly reddened cheeks.

"No problem, it's not like I don't enjoy spending time with you."

Suddenly something clicked in Roxas' head. Maybe it was her intonation, or maybe it was the slight smile on her face or the way she looked into his eyes, but Roxas knew that this wasn't just Namine being friendly. The question in his mind now was, did Namine realize this. Roxas pulled a hand back to his chest and held a pained expression on his face.

"Ouch, you say that as if I'm this horrible person who nobody would WANT to spend time with and that I twisted your arm to get you to help me."

"Well I guess you could be worse, you could be that idiot cousin of yours." Namine leaned in towards Roxas, her face now just a few inches from his. Roxas leaned in a bit closer too.

"I guess you're right…" They both closed their eyes and leaned in closer when a slight chuckling caused both of their faces to turn scarlet and their heads to turn towards the back corner of the room near the painting of a ngiht sky.

"You are quite right Roxas, it could be much worse, you could in fact be me. You could be ridiculously wealthy, utterly brilliant and a musical prodigy to boot."

Roxas just scowled at his cousin, packed away his art supplies and grabbed Namine's hand as his cousin began laughing maniacally. The two blondes quickly left the room as a silver head poked out from behind the bookshelf near Sora.

"Are you done tormenting him for now, we have work to do?" Sora scoffed at his friend.

"Let me have my fun Riku, I let you have yours this morning."

"Wait what!"

"I saw you at the tree, you honestly think I didn't know? You really need to stop."

Riku frowned at his friend, his arms crossed in front of him when an idea crossed his mind.

"I'll go clean for one week if you entertain this stupid whim of mine."

"This better not be sexual." Sora warned.

"Nah I know better than to try that when you aren't drunk."

"That was one time and I had no clu-, what the hell is this? Oh no, absolutely not!" Sora stared at the piece of paper in his hand in horror as Riku laughed quietly. What the hell was Riku thinking?

x0x0x0x

Roxas and Namine sat quietly under the large oak tree behind the school as Roxas finished his sketch. The two hadn't looked at each other since storming out of the Alchemist's room. Roxas finally put down his coloured pencils with a sigh and packed his things up before looking over at the blonde girl. She was facing away from him her hands clasped in her lap. Roxas stood up quietly and walked over at sat beside her. Namine didn't move.

"Look, I'm sor-"

The next thing Roxas knew Namine's arms were around his shoulders and her lips were against his. Roxas sat shocked for a couple seconds before he sank into the kiss he was receiving from the girl, returning the affection she was giving to him. After several moments the two separated; their cheeks a deep shade of red.

"I guess we've been interrupted enough times huh?" Roxas asked.

"You're damn right, now hold my hand as we head to class, I assume you won't have a problem with me being your girlfriend based on what we just did."

"No ma'am!" Roxas jumped to his feet and offered his hand out to the now beaming girl and they both headed towards the school and their afternoon classes.

x0x0x0x

Roxas sat down at his desk in his Math class feeling like nothing could ruin his day when he remembered where he was. Math class. Beside Sora. The bell rang to signal the beginning of the period and Ansem the Wise walked into the room and began writing some problems on the board.

"Same deal as the last couple days, solve these twenty problems and you are good to go, homework is the next ten pages in the book."

Instead of the usual course of action of teaching students how to solve the problems in class and making them practice at home, Ansem taught in the opposite way. Apparently it was easier to answer student's questions after they had more than ten minutes to let the information sink in.

Roxas completed the first five questions and before he knew it he was finished and there was no sign of Sora anywhere. He handed in his paper to Ansem and upon them being deemed correct Roxas left the room to go wait for Namine in front of her class.

He didn't think the afternoon could possibly get any better, hell even Sora couldn't ruin his day at this point as far as he was concerned.

"Somebody sure seems like they are in a good mood."

Roxas looked up from where he was sitting near the door to Namine's class to find an auburn haired girl staring down at him.

"You have class with Namine right now don't you?"

"Uh-huh and I can't believe the first thing I heard out of her mouth after lunch, or rather I barely could hear it for the squeals of joy."

Roxas scratched the back or his head and felt a rush of heat to his face.

"I take it by the blush that you two ARE going out now then?"

"Guess so."

"No wonder you're grinning like an idiot, reminds me of a guy I used to know. Always had this sheepish grin on his face whenever he was thinking of the girl he was attracted to. Anyways I gotta head in and pack up, expect a massive gossip session in art today."

"You say that as if you haven't already had one this period."

"Oh we have, so expect the whole school to know by the time you get home because Selphie is in this class too."

"Any dirty secrets I should know about Namine then?"

"Polar Bears."

"What?"

"Just remember that, alright back out in a jiffy."

The bell signaling the end of the period rang and Roxas could hear the shuffling of papers and chairs as people packed up to head to their next class. As expected Namine was hardly alone and the 'awwws' that echoed forth from around her when he grabbed her hand as they headed to art were almost deafening.

"You guys are so cute!" Squealed Selphie as she jumped around the new couple. Roxas eyed his three friends in the hall as he passed by the math rooms on his way to art and once Axel saw where his hand was, Roxas got a quick but loud cheer from his fiery friend, which caused the entire hall to stare at the two blondes.

"Christ you would think we were celebrities with all the attention we're getting." Roxas quipped to Namine.

"Oh, right well see the thing is considering I've turned down every other guy at the school this will probably be big news so expect a fair amount of jealousy."

"Greaaaat just what I needed, more deranged males trying to make my life miserable." Roxas started to roll his eyes until Namine leaned towards his ear.

_Even if they try to I'll make sure that I make up for it somehow, it wouldn't be fair if I didn't._

As the group of friends walked into the art classroom Roxas couldn't feel strange that he was hoping for abuse from his male counterparts before the end of the day.


End file.
